Watchmen

[KPWNINJA]

Finally got around to seeing Watchmen last night. What a superb film! I'm so glad Zack Snyder kept it very faithful to the graphic novel. I can't wait until this gets released to DVD/Blu Ray to see the extended cut.

Rorschach for President!

[eiren]

There's additional versions of the Watchmen film to come that sound great:

The theatrical version of Watchmen has been rated MA 15+ in Australia and R in the US. It runs to 161 minutes plus change.
Director Zack Snyder promises two longer versions this year, the director's cut at 190 minutes, and the 205 minute Black Freighter version, which is the Directors Cut with an animated cartoon edited into the narrative, as per the graphic novel. Snyder has also said that the Directors Cut will be more violent and sexually explicit. It's not clear yet whether this footage was cut for the US R rating, or it's just extended juicy material.

I thought Watchmen was brilliant. One of the best things I've seen at the cinema in a long time. Not watered down to cater for the mass audiences, it's a breath of fresh air from Hollywood.

[Wilson Bros]

Well, it looks like Watchmen is officially a flop - with marketing & distribution costs, it needed to make around $300m in total; so far it's limping toward making a third of that.

This will mean that studios will be less likely to take a risk on making such movies again.

Kev W

[gax]

i didn't know anything about watchmen b4 seeing it and it was borrrring,i didn't have a fukin clue what was going on 1985 with Nixon still alive?if your a fan u will like it if your not(or never herd of it) you will find it long,slow and not very interesting 3/10

[NossB]

Originally Posted by gax

i didn't have a fukin clue what was going on 1985 with Nixon still alive?

With the creation of Doctor Manhattan and because his intervention in the Vietnam War which brought the conflict to an end in a week, it gave Nixon carte blanche in regards to his Presidency and the elimination of the Twenty-second Amendment which states that a president can only stand for office twice (Nixon uses a loophole to get around this Amendment in the TV series Futurama, which is why he's serving a third term 1000 years in the future in that show.)

Nixon was alive in 1985, he died in 1994.

[eiren]

Originally Posted by Wilson Bros

Well, it looks like Watchmen is officially a flop - with marketing & distribution costs, it needed to make around $300m in total; so far it's limping toward making a third of that.

This will mean that studios will be less likely to take a risk on making such movies again.

Kev W

You have to remember that a film like Watchmen will make the majority of it's revenue in the home market. So expect it to make a lot more once it's released on DVD, Blu-ray, and on download sites.

It's quite common now for films to not make back their costs at the box office but to make lots of profit on the home formats. Cinemas are stupid and increase the prices to try counter this, when in fact most people are put off going to the cinema because it's so ****ing expensive now.

With the additional versions planned, and the fact that it's bound to be a reference quality Blu-ray disc for most people, I'd expect Watchmen to make a profit in the end... especially with such favourable reviews from the majority.

[Matt]

I really enjoyed Watchmen. I saw it at the Imax in London and was really taken in by it.

I had bought the graphic novel last year but hadn't gotten around to reading it. I did so immediately after the film and was really blown away. It's terrific. It's such a well balanced book. I think I prefer the comic to the film, but do think that the ending used in the film was an improvement (and probably a necessity, too).

With regard to the films financial performance, I think it will have disappointed alot of people at Warner Brothers. Even if the film does break even, it's unlikely to encourage studios to produce further block-buster style films with adult content. Big profits are the name of the game. I also think that it's an achievement for a film such as Watchmen to make what it has and would question quite how it was ever presumed by a studio that the film would bring in the big $$$.

Still, I'm looking forward to the directors cut. Hopefully it will get a short theatrical run here, in addition to the one planned for the US.

[NossB]

[Aurora75]

Been a fan of the graphic novel since I was about 14. Was expecting to hate the film... I actually thought it was brilliant. A rarity for a comic adaptation to be so good, and although there are differences, the fundamentals are spot on. The characters are realised perfectly, especially Rorshach. And being my fave character from anything, ever.. I take my hat off to the people responsible.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

I saw Watchmen (the Director's Cut) for the 1st time last week.Having never read the graphic novel and therefore having no basis for comparison,I loved the film.Excellent performances all round,especially from Jackie Earl Haley as Rorshach.It's a shame the 90's weren't too kind to him,hollywood wise.